1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors in which terminals are arranged in multiple rows.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 7 shows such an electrical connector as described above. A housing body 51 is made from an insulative material so as to extend in the direction perpendicular to the sheet. It has a support plate 52 extending forwardly from a vertically middle portion thereof. It also has upper and lower grooves 53 and 54 extending forwardly on the upper and lower surfaces of the support plate 52 and upper and lower apertures 55 and 56 communicating with the upper and lower grooves 53 and 54, respectively. Strip-like terminals 57 and 58 are inserted into the apertures 55 and 56 from the back or right-hand side of the housing body 51 or held in the molding of the housing body 51 such that the front contact sections 57A and 58A are in the grooves 53 and 54.
The terminals 57 and 58 each have a bent section 57B or 58B such that the rear connection sections 57C and 58C are aligned linearly on a circuit board P. The connection sections 57C and 58C are soldered to the corresponding traces of the circuit board P.
In use, a mating connector (not shown) is guided into the front section 59A of a rectangular casing 59 which surrounds the housing body 51 such that the terminals 57 and 58 are connected to the corresponding terminals.
However, the rear ends of the two types of terminals for the above electrical connector are disposed at two different positions, presenting the following disadvantages.
(1) A large mounting space is necessary to accommodate the two types of terminals, hindering miniaturization of the equipment. PA1 (2) It is difficult to provide planarity of the circuit at a junction between the circuit and connection portions. PA1 (3) The circuit tends to warp, applying a high stress to either of the connection portions and separating the soldering.